Vice President's Secretariat
Vice President calls upon the youth to visit tourist destinations in the country to understand the rich cultural heritage of India;
VP stresses upon the need to protect nature and preserve culture;
Urges corporate bodies to fund the development and beautification of tourist places;
Asks students to take up ‘Bharat Darshan’ to understand challenges and opportunities faced by the nation;
Releases the book ‘Himalayan Odyssey’ written by Shri M.P. Veerendra Kumar
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has called upon people, particularly the youth to visit various tourist destinations in the country to get acquainted with various facets of India’s culture, heritage, languages and cuisine and enhance their understanding of its unique cultural mosaic.
Speaking after releasing the book ‘Himalayan Odyssey’, the English translation of the award-winning Malayalam original - ‘Haimavathabhuvil’, written by Shri M.P. Veerendra Kumar, Member of Parliament and Chief Managing Director of Mathrubhumi, in New Delhi today, he said that the diverse nature of various places of interest in the country, which are steeped in history, culture, mythology and heritage, provide immense opportunity to leverage the tourism potential. “One should know their country better before exploring the world”, he added.
Observing that every state has unique tourist destinations, the Vice President said “certain places give you inspiration, new thoughts and new ideas”. He wanted the youth to spend time in the lap of nature and strive to protect it. Voicing concern that the nature was showing its fury after it has been exploited by human beings for decades, he wanted people to love and live with nature. “Protect Nature and preserve culture for a better future”, he added.
The Vice President also called upon corporate bodies like CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM to identify tourist places that are less developed and fund their development and beautification. He wanted them to supplement the efforts of Central and State Governments in making India an attractive global tourist destination.
Shri Naidu said that wherever possible Public-Private Partnership models must be adopted to take necessary steps to give a boost to domestic tourism.
Describing tourism sector as a major engine for economic growth and for creation of employment in sectors like hospitality, transport and as a means for empowering local communities, Shri Naidu opined that there was is a great scope and need to develop tourist circuits on specific themes to attract the tourists having special interests in visiting such places.
Referring to the call given by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, asking people to visit 15 new tourist places by 2022 to support domestic tourism, the Vice President urged students to undertake Bharat Dashan to understand the challenges faced by the nation and to device ingenious solutions to counter these problems.
Shri Naidu complimented the government for introducing schemes such as Swadesh Darshan, National Mission for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive  and applauded the Railway Ministry for launching special pilgrimage packages to give a boost to domestic tourism.
- about the book, Shri Naidu said that with the core theme of various journeys made to the Himalayan Char Dhams, it takes in its grand sweep everything from the snow-capped Himalayan peaks to the banks of the river Nila in Kerala.
The Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Shri Harivansh, the Member of Parliament, Shri Jayaram Ramesh, Shri D. Raja and others were present on the occasion.
Following is the text of Vice President’s address:
“I am extremely pleased to release ‘Himalayan Odyssey’, the English translation of the Malayalam original--Haimavathabhuvil.
I am glad that the book first published in Malayalam by Mathrubhumi Books has won the coveted Kendra Sahitya Akademi and Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards. The other honours include Moorthidevi Puraskar, Dr. Shivram Karanth award, Vayalar award and Amrita Keerthi Puraskaram.
The English version of the travelogue captures the grandeur, the civilizational ethos and culture of India in all its glory and I must compliment Shri Veerendra Kumar for the excellent work.
Indeed, the book is about India’s legends, mythologies, history, geography, culture, arts, spirituality and politics, capturing the fecund diversity of Indian civilization.
With the core theme of various journeys made to the Himalayan Char Dhams, the book takes in its grand sweep everything from the snow-capped Himalayan peaks to the banks of the river Nila in Kerala.
The book talks of the spiritual evolution of our heritage from the Himalaya deva-bhumi to the veda-bhumi of the banks of Nila; Meditation on Krishna, the subtle concepts of Radhakrishna and Raslila and their deep-rooted hold on the native imagination and the poetic charm of Gita Govinda by Jayadeva.
Beginning with the author’s journey to the Himalayas from Delhi in October 2003, it recounts his long association with the capital and talks of the mythical origins of Indraprastha and the hoary legend of Kurukshetra.
Tracing the historic events that unfolded on the banks of the Yamuna from the times of the Delhi Sultanate to the making of imperial Lutyens Delhi, it touches on the Hindu-Mughal-Islamic, Buddhist and Jain influences on the eclectic architecture.
Among others, the writer mentions the landmark Stockholm convention in the context of pollution in the city of Ghaziabad and Meerut’s historic link to Alexander, its mythological links to the Mahabharatha and its role in the First War of Indian Independence.
After delving into the contributions of philosopher-poet-grammarian Bhartrihari, the work turns philosophical.
The hallowed land of Kankhal, the concept of Ardhanareeshwara, the Haridwar declaration to ‘Save Ganga’ in 2002 in the context of Tehri dam displacement, the earlier efforts by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, and references to the various holy temples in the region are also found in the book.
The book also talks of the sacred Ganges with its perennial hold on the Indian imagination with poets, scientists and travelers lauding its mystical qualities. Apart from mentioning about Gangotri, the author refers to the retreat of the Gomukh glacier. Sounding an environmental alert, he also quoted many scientific studies on global warming.
The history of Tehri Garhwal, global ecological impact of massive dams, the origins of music, through Tansen to the little known musical bent of Swami Vivekananda, the sacred nature of Kedarnath, with its centrality to Shaivaite faith and the journey to the holy dham of Kedarnath are all interestingly penned by the author.
The book also talks of the eventful Kailash-trek of the head monk of Vasishtguha, the architectural marvel of the Baijnath temple dating back to the Katyuri dynasty on the banks of the Gomti River and ruminates on the concept of Devi as the high point of the feminine principle.
The final chapter is a summation on the journey through both space and time undertaken with a band of near and dear ones, with Kausani, home town to nationalist poet Sumitranandan Pant, and Anashakti Ashram triggering a wave of thoughts on Gandhian philosophy and its abiding relevance for all times.
Finally, I would like to stress the importance of promoting both domestic and international tourism and bringing out more travel books on India.
Dear friends,
From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, India has many scenic and pilgrimage destinations with relevance to Indian history, culture, mythology and heritage.
There is a great scope and need to develop tourist circuits on specific themes to attract the tourists having special interest in visiting such places.
Tourism is a major engine for economic growth and for creation of employment in sectors like hospitality, transport and empowers local communities.
While the central and state governments are doing their bit to develop tourist spots and promote tourism, I would like to suggest to the corporate sector to supplement the efforts of the governments.
I compliment the government for introducing schemes such as Swadesh Darshan, National Mission for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive  and also the Railway Ministry for launching special pilgrimage packages.
I feel that as suggested by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, people, especially the youth must visit at least 15 tourist destinations within India by 2022 to give boost to domestic tourism.
Undertaking Bharat Dashan by students would be a good learning experience for them on various facets of India’s culture, heritage, languages and cuisine and enhance their understanding of the unique cultural mosaic of the country.
As a matter-of-fact, the corporate bodies like CII, FICCI and Assocham should identify tourism places which are less developed and fund their development and beautification. From pilgrim tourism to adventure tourism; from eco-tourism to wellness tourism, incredible India has plenty to offer. Wherever possible, PPP model should be implemented to make India one of the most attractive global tourist destinations.
I would like to once again compliment Shri M P Veerendra Kumar for penning this fascinating book. He is a multifaceted personality and wears many hats. A former Union Minister, who had served in the cabinets of Shri H D Deve Gowda and Shri I K Gujral, he is a prolific writer and authored several books.
I am told that he was conferred more than 100 awards, including the Kendra and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards and the moortidevi award instituted by the Bharatiya Jnanpith. As Chairman and Managing Director of the Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Company Limited, he has made immense contribution to the field of journalism.
Thank you!
Jaihind!!